The NSA wants to recognize you based on how you type on your smartphone

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
(C) holds up a group of cell phones in front of U.S. District
Court to announce the filing of a class action lawsuit to stop
NSA surveillance.Win
McNamee

Like snowflakes or fingerprints, each smartphone user's typing
may be slightly different.

That's what the National Security Agency (NSA) is banking
on. As Nextgov
reports, the NSA recently tested swipe recognition technology
from Lockheed Martin that attempts to identify smartphone users based
on how they type on their phone.

John Mears, senior fellow for Lockheed IT and Security Solutions,
told Nextgov that all
humans have their own electronic signature. Lockheed's digital
recognition can find this signature by examining the shape of
a person's swipes
and the time a user spends typing.

It is unclear how the NSA plans
to use the technology, and the agency did not immediately respond
to our request for comment.

Smartphone signature recognition technology is part of a larger
push within the security community to develop technology that
improves on fingerprint identification. As Nextgov notes, the FBI
has invested heavily in biometric ID systems that seek to go
beyond fingerprint recognition, identifying individuals based on
a variety of different means including everything from tattoo to
retina scans.

While government agencies are exploring possible security uses,
private companies are racing to develop biometric ID technology
that could be used in consumer products. USAA bank recently
rolled out an app that allows customers to
log in from their phones using vocal and facial recognition
software.

The market for biometrics is
estimated to be at least $3.6 billion, but it is expected
to grow
exponentiallyin the next
decade.